'…What the?'
The photo felt wrong the moment she saw it.
Up until now, every picture taken of Won Yuha had been bright, lively—full of excitement.
But the photo the high school fan was looking at now was wrapped in a strange, desolate atmosphere.
What was even stranger was Yuha's posture.
He looked like he was hurrying somewhere—no, like he was running away.
His hat was pulled low, mask raised to his nose—completely covered. Unlike the photos taken today, this one showed not even a sliver of his face.
And the climax came with the video.
The short video clip showed Won Yuha standing in front of a taxi, and the camera was shaking wildly.
There was no sound, so it was impossible to know what was happening, but the high school fan couldn't help recoiling as she watched.
[...!]
Won Yuha reached out his hand—and shoved someone.
One of the people beside him fell hard to the ground, and Yuha froze for a split second.
But only for that second.
He ignored the fallen person, jumped into the taxi, and disappeared—while the camera showed someone running after the taxi as if chasing him.
The video ended there.
And underneath the attached photos and video, it said:
***
**"Yuha-ya lol you acted all high and mighty for everyone to see, but why were you like this back then??ㅠㅠ You pushed a fan who said she liked you and ran into a taxi alone, and today you acted all sweet taking tons of picturesㅋㅋ
If you're going to hate fans, at least be consistent. Pretending to be some grateful, born-to-be idol now?? Do you think I'm living fine after being shoved by you?ㅠㅠㅠ
Don't get ahead of yourself—you're just a trainee. Acting like you're already a top-tier idol. Couldn't even hide your shitty personality and it exploded on broadcast too lol. I'm sharing this so fewer people get fooled by your face and Dear Doll's scripted narrative."**
***
And under it were already countless comments:
What the hell???? Is that really Won Yuha???????
└ The physique, the face outline, even the hat—looks like him to me;
└ Ew f*** I voted for him;
What happened to his personality lololol this is insane. Isn't he literally doing subway ads right now??? Folder bows and thanking fans all over the place—so that was acting?? lolol
Creepy;; the date says it was literally yesterday. So he shoved a fan yesterday and today he's pretending to be all humble idol-trainee?
└ Holy shit you're right???? It was yesterday
└ Janus-level mood swing
He's doing fan-hate already… lmao bye
He only treats fans as "fans" when it benefits him, ignores ones who recognize him outside—selective fan-hating clown. Imagine someone like that accepting gifts, I'd be furious
My fave got eliminated for this guy??? lol
Aren't you guys jumping the gun?; The camera angle and all look weird. I think it's too early to bash him like this.
└ Streaming fandom entering to shieldㅋㅋㅋ pretending to be neutral while crying a bloody defenseㅠ
└; I'm not streaming fandom, I like Dear Doll trainees in general, I'm only saying something looks weird?? Am I the only one seeing this??
└ Yes, it's just you
I am streaming fandom but honestly this is indefensible. The evidence is way too clear. I'm really disappointed.
So he only acted nice because he thought no one was filming, huh? lol pathetic. Keep smiling today while you still can—that's your last day as an idol. Oh wait, you won't even debutㅠ
What is Karma Entertainment even doing lol can't even manage their trainees properly
└ Now we know why he didn't debut in LONㅋㅋㅋ Imagine someone like that being in the same team as our babies. Spine-chilling.
└ Five years as a trainee and still cut from the debut lineup—makes sense nowㅠ
The high school fan shut off her phone in a burst of frustration. All the comments pouring in were basically personal attacks.
'…Is this real?'
Even after turning off her phone, she couldn't shake the thought.
Yuha pushing someone in the video, the photos of him turning away like he was fleeing—they replayed in her mind.
'...?'
Then a sudden sense of déjà vu hit her.
'I've seen that place before. The scenery in the video and the photos…'
She retraced her memory, turned her phone back on, and reopened the post. It was already spreading across SNS and various communities, turning into a full-blown controversy.
Studying the photos and video more carefully, she thought about where this location might be.
And then—
'…This is XX Columbarium.'
She realized where she had seen it.
Her late grandmother was enshrined there, and she visited once or twice a year—naturally, the scenery felt familiar.
The moment she recognized the location, she remembered that earlier comment: "Something's weird."
So she made her own post on SNS:
"The place Yuha is in right now is XX Columbarium—did fans recognize him there? That seems weird."
And that post began spreading quickly alongside the original accusation.
***
The moment I saw the post, I had exactly one thought:
'It's here.'
My instincts were right. I knew that incident wouldn't simply disappear.
I quietly turned off my phone and handed it back to Cheon Serim. His expression was stiff as he gauged my reaction.
"Are you okay?"
"...."
I couldn't answer right away. Because, obviously—I wasn't.
All I could think was that the explosion I'd been expecting had finally come.
I felt strangely calm—but that didn't mean I was fine.
"What is this? What's going on?"
"…Yuha-ya."
"I'm sorry, but—"
There was nothing I could explain in this moment.
Only one thing was certain.
"I'm getting off here."
"Yuha?"
"Hyung!"
"I'm sorry. Please pull over for a moment."
Right now, I needed to go home quietly.
I couldn't keep wandering around with the three of them—not when the controversy had erupted. If people saw us together, they'd get dragged into it too. And the public wouldn't react kindly to the idea of "the controversy trainee going sightseeing."
The taxi stopped, and I immediately stepped out onto the curb.
But the moment I did, Serim, Danwoo, and Aiden followed. I had no choice but to stop them.
Their faces were grim—they must have already seen the situation on their phones.
I quietly opened my mouth, asking for their understanding.
"I'm sorry to back out after suggesting we go together… but I can't keep going around like this. You three should go home too. If you get dragged into this because of me…"
"Forget that—what happened? Tell us the situation. I still don't get it."
It was Aiden Lee, firm and unyielding, who cut off my attempt to send them away.
While I hesitated, Cheon Serim and Joo Danwoo spoke up in turn.
"The person in that post… is that really you, hyung? It's not edited or someone mistaken for you?"
"It's just a misunderstanding, right?"
"…No. It's me."
The three fell silent in shock. Then, in a subdued voice, Cheon Serim asked:
"The photos were taken yesterday. Where were you?"
"...."
"It's sasaengs, right."
Serim seemed to grasp the situation immediately from the angle of the photos and the video. When I nodded without speaking, he sighed in frustration, removed his hat, and ran a hand roughly through his hair.
"Did you really push someone?"
"No."
I answered Aiden's question without hesitation.
They grabbed my sleeve, I tried to shake them off, and someone fell.
"Then… you didn't do anything wrong."
"That's not the point."
Cutting off Joo Danwoo, who had spoken timidly, Serim looked back at me and continued.
"What matters is how it looks. Nobody knows whether the person who posted it was a sasaeng or not, and they hid everything cleverly enough that anyone who sees it will think you shoved a fan. People are already getting swept up by it."
"What about posting a rebuttal? Saying they're sasaengs?"
"No one will believe it. Rumors that spread once don't die that easily. Even now, Yuha-hyung is being branded as the trainee who pushed a fan. Getting rid of that image won't be easy."
After calmly breaking down the situation for Aiden and Danwoo, Serim made a suggestion.
"Hyung, do you remember the taxi number?"
"...."
"Why the taxi?"
"Taxis have black boxes. The whole thing should be recorded. If we release that, we can correct the situation. We need to act fast."
"Oh, that could work! As long as people know something's off—"
"No."
The one to cut them off this time was me.
All three turned to look at me.
"…What?"
"Sorry, but we can't do that. The cost of releasing that footage would be too high."
"What are you talking about? How could anything be worse than this situation—"
Serim looked genuinely baffled, but I couldn't bring myself to consider revealing that black box footage.
Because—
"That footage was taken at a columbarium."
If the video were released, the location would inevitably be exposed.
"What?"
Serim blinked, thrown off by my reply.
I fell silent. I didn't know where to begin, or how much to tell them.
My past was something I intended to hide until the very end of the show.
Nothing good would come from revealing it, and once revealed, it would spread—and never be hidden again.
I didn't think these three were the type to gossip about something so personal.
But I had never once been cornered like this into revealing my past.
I couldn't predict how they would react.
Still—
'…There's no option to hide it anymore.'
If damage was going to happen, these three would be the ones hit hardest.
They had always been tied to me as a set. If I took a fall, they would suffer too.
So I had no choice but to explain—and apologize.
They deserved to know.
They had the right to know.
"…Yesterday."
Finally, I opened my mouth.
"I went to pay respects. It was the memorial day for my adoptive parents who passed away last year."
"Ah…"
"...."
The three looked momentarily stunned. After a brief silence, Joo Danwoo was the first to speak.
"…You don't want the public to know your parents passed away?"
"It's… complicated."
I answered Danwoo and paused, choosing my words carefully.
After sorting my thoughts, I slowly continued.
"You remember when I said I was a Baek I-hyeon anti."
"Why are you bringing that up…"
"The truth is, I'm not his anti. We knew each other. I just don't like him because of a messed-up connection from childhood."
"…Huh?"
Among the three who were trying to piece things together, the first to react was—
"Yuha… were you from the same orphanage?"
Unexpectedly, Aiden Lee.
He said it quietly, face somber, and glanced at me.
I nodded.
After that, the three finally realized where this was going.
"If we release the footage now, everything will be exposed."
"...."
Orphanage background.
Connection with Baek I-hyeon.
Adoptive parents who passed away last year.
Losing my debut opportunity right afterward.
My low initial skill level.
Then the carefully built "growth arc"
"If this all comes out, the show will eat me alive."
It would unravel everything at once—everything I wanted to keep hidden.
Not as facts, but as entertainment.
Something for people to enjoy.
To dissect.
To tear apart.
As the worst possible narrative.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://shinchan1.podia.com/